Quiksilver co-founder and longtime CEO steps down

Bob McKnight, co-founder of Huntington Beach-based surf brand Quiksilver, will step down as CEO and is being replaced by a former Disney and Nike executive, the company announced Thursday.

Andy Mooney, who most recently served as chairman of Disney Consumer products, takes over as president and CEO starting Jan. 11.McKnight will continue to serve as executive chairman.

"It's very exciting for the company, and for me personally. It's been a long time in the works, I've been thinking about it for about a year," McKnight said in a phone interview Thursday.

"It's been a long time coming, and now that's it's actually happening, I think everyone is thrilled. They think it's the right thing for the company to bring in someone new to run the joint. I'm really proud of what we've done and excited for where we are headed."

Before his 11 years at Disney, Mooney spent two decades at Nike serving as chief marketing officer, founder of Nike's equipment business and general manager of Nike's global apparel business. The Scotland native, 57, lives in the Hollywood Hills.

"It couldn't be a better fit," Mooney said. "There was a perfect match between my experience and the opportunity here. Quiksilver is clearly a brand that has a high emotional quotient, and really has some runway for growth."

In his new role, McKnight will continue as a liaison to Quiksilver's core markets by maintaining relationships with the team riders, visiting surf shops and attending tradeshows and sales meetings.

"My biggest role will be to support Andy 100 percent," he said. "We want to grow in territories where we can be bigger, like Korea, China and Indonesia. He knows what we do here, it's in his DNA as well as mine. Now I think we can make the operations bigger, better, faster and more profitable.'

Surfindustry insider Peter "PT" Townend, who helped facilitate the original deal in 1976 with McKnight and Jeff Hakman to bring the Quiksilver line to North America from Australia, said McKnight has been ready to step aside.

"I've known for a while that McKnight has been wanting to transition out of the role. He's been there for so long, he didn't want to be at the helm any longer," Townend said.

McKnight, 59, served as president from 1979 through July 1991, and as chairman and chief executive officer since August 1991. In February 2008, he was also re-appointed president, according to the company.

Quiksilverhas gone from being a start up in a Newport Beach garage – when McKnight sold shorts to shops from the trunk of his car – to an international brand posting annual sales of $2 billion. Quiksilver also includes Roxy, DC, Lib Tech and Hawk.

McKnight said his greatest challenge over the years has been "navigating through 38 years of staying cool."

"Everyone warned us, there's only 200,000 surfers in Southern California. You'll never be bigger than $1 million, then never $100 million. You can't make a girls' line, then you can't go public. We just kept knocking over those barriers and doing it all," McKnight said.

The brand has been struggling for years, at one point being $1 billion in debt because of its acquisition of skiwear company Rossignol, which the company sold in 2008. The debt, combined with the economic downturn, led to one of "the most financially and emotionally painful chapters in Quiksilver's history," McKnight said in 2010.

"I see a lot more opportunity than I see challenges," Mooney said. "I see nothing but upside in terms of growth."

Thursday's announcement is the latest in a string of major surf industry changes in Orange County. In December, Costa Mesa-based Volcom named Jason Steris as the company's new chief executive officer, while founder Richard Woolcott stepped down as CEO to become executive chairman.

Also in December, Billabong North America President Paul Naude put in a bid to buy Billabong International Ltd., the action sports company in Gold Coast, Australia, for $1.10 a share. Nike also shocked the surf world recently when it announced it would shift its surf division to Costa Mesa-based Hurley.

Its team rider roster includes 11-time world champ Kelly Slater and young up-and-comers such as Huntington Beach's Kanoa Igarashi.

The brand is sold in 90 countries and has more than 600 stores globally, but has posted annual net losses since 2007, according to Bloomberg. In the fiscal year ended Oct. 31, sales rose 3.1 percent to $2.01 billion. The net loss was $10.8 million.

James G. Ellis, the company's presiding director,said Mooney has what it takes to move Quiksilver to its next phase of growth and profitability.

"Andy has served in a variety of senior leadership roles with two of the largest, most recognized and well respected companies in the world," Ellis said. "He is an experienced senior executive with a proven background building consumer brands, developing worldwide marketing strategies and driving global growth."

Mooney said he expects a "well-stamped passport" in his first months on the job.

"I have as much to learn as to impart – learning the business in depth, management team in depth," he said. "So I'll be completely in sponge mode for the next weeks and months."

Although Mooney's hobbies include running and cycling – and not surfing and snowboarding – he notes that he wasn't a woman or into aerobics when he oversaw that segment at Nike.

"This will be a new experience," he said. "The skill set I bring are the disciplines of getting to know your consumer and channel really well, and creating energy and vibrancy into that channel. That to me is the number one thing that will be done. Hopefully my track record will tell."